Does any Dutch company in Gelderland or Overijssel know where and under what conditions industrial estates are available in the neighbouring German Münsterland region? What planner or business promoter in the Lower Rhine region can tell you about the development of industrial estates in the densely populated area of Arnhem/Nijmegen? Until now, it was nearly impossible to gain such cross-border insights. Thanks to internet-based geographic information, this is soon to change!

The new user-oriented Web portal “In-X-Form” provides companies, business promoters, planners, politicians, real estate brokers and project developers interested in relocation with the latest cross-border information on industrial land. “In-X-Form” stands for “information beyond borders”, the main goal of the joint German-Dutch initiative, X-Border-GDI. This organisation aims to break down the “borders in people’s minds” and bridge the information and knowledge gaps that exist today.

“In-X-Form” is a model project which has been launched initially for two cross-border pilot areas. The system is accessible to everyone via the internet. Users are able to compile the latest information about industrial estates according to their specific needs and requirements. The project offers the following in detail:

• Regional info: Geographic location, size and scale of the industrial estates in the border regions, industrial estates which are still available in the short or medium term, their connection to existing and planned (supra-)regional transportation infrastructures or information regarding the extent to which the industrial estates border or overlap protected areas. The border area of Regio Achterhoek/Regio Twente (NL) and Borken county (D) is used as the pilot region.
• Local info: Special attributes of individual industrial areas (e.g. transportation connections, planning rights), ownership situations (public or private), availability according different periods of time, contact person for prospective buyers, retroactive sales and interested industries. The pilot area is made up of the bordering neighbours Gemeente Montferland NL – Regio Achterhoek) and the city of Emmerich (D –Kleve county).

This information can be used in a wide variety of ways: for market observation and analysis, as a tool for obtaining initial information when searching for locations, for regional marketing, to attract new companies to the area to ensure its long-term success, for regional and municipal planning purposes and as a tool for accounting and decision making, just to name a few.

The advantages over current working methods are obvious: This system does more than just provide data to create cross-border transparency. Provided this information is gathered by means of a systematic industrial estate monitoring system, referenced with geographic data and continuously updated, current data on specific plots can be made available at any time. In addition, this tool considerably simplifies the work involved in this process, can be expanded as needed and truly promotes co-operation between different municipalities and regions.

“In-X-Form” is not a finished product. Instead, it can be seen as the starting point of a development involving many different participants – each with their own unique contribution. The Web portal under “in-x-chat” gives people the opportunity to express and discuss their opinions: Help us develop In-X-Form further by telling us your opinion, asking questions, providing your criticisms and contributing your suggestions and tips!